Giving Back to Schools

Packaging schools are working on solutions to some of the challenges you face as a packaging professional. And they may just find a few. Consider the efforts this summer by students and faculty at Michigan State University (MSU) School of Packaging. The school hosted �The Universal Package: Designing Packaging for Everyone.� This seminar touched upon balancing child resistance with senior friendliness and designing compliance packaging, two issues that concern you. And at the University of Florida�s Packaging Science Program, students and faculty are researching two tools that FDA has shown a strong interest in: radio-frequency identification and bar coding. Other packaging schools no doubt are making their own strides.

For industry to benefit from programs like these, packaging schools and students need industry support. The Healthcare Compliance Packaging Council (HCPC) has always known this. As part of its annual Compliance Package of the Year Awards program, the council donates scholarship funds to packaging schools. And now PMP News�s parent company Canon Communications llc has teamed up with HCPC to do the same. Canon is matching HCPC�s donation of $6000 to increase the program�s scholarships to packaging schools to $12,000 this year. 

Program winners were asked to choose packaging schools that would receive scholarship funds donated by both HCPC and Canon Communications. This year, both the overall winner and the second runner-up selected MSU to receive donations. Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, which took top honors in HCPC�s awards program for its Actonel 35 mg, asked for its $6000 scholarship prize to be awarded to MSU. Second runner-up TAP Pharmaceuticals, recognized for Prevacid NapraPAC, also chose MSU for its $3000 scholarship prize. 

Merck & Co., selected as first runner-up for its Emend package, chose Rutgers College of Packaging Science and Technology to receive $3000 in scholarship funds. 

The schools are left to determine the disposition of the scholarship funds. HCPC hopes, however, that these funds will be awarded to a student or students with a demonstrated interest in pharmaceutical packaging currently enrolled in either an undergraduate or a graduate program, says Peter Mayberry, executive director of HCPC. 

We are pleased to join HCPC in its support of packaging education. We encourage you to provide your own support. Consider attending school-sponsored events, participating in programs like HCPC�s awards that benefit schools, or donating your own funds for scholarships and supplies. Even if packaging schools can�t come up with the answers, they are at least preparing the packaging professionals of tomorrow who may just. 

Daphne Allen
Editor

P.S. This is also my final editorial column for PMP News this year. I will be taking maternity leave through the end of 2004 and will return in January 2005. Please stay in touch with Kassandra Kania, PMP News�s managing editor, at kassandra.kania@cancom.com, and with Ben Van Houten, PMP News�s senior editor, at ben.vanhouten@cancom.com. 

I hope to see you at the MD&M West and WestPack shows in Anaheim, CA, January 10�12, 2005!